New campus energy program provides incentives for conservation
Departments will be given an electricity budget and can pocket annual energy savings

BY BARBARA PALMER

Beginning this month, a new program designed to provide financial incentives for energy conservation will take effect, transferring responsibility for paying for electricity use from the central Budget Office to about 20 schools and administrative units.

The program, called the Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP), gives units an "electricity budget" for power consumed between March and August of this year, said Susan Kulakowski, campus energy manager. The size of the budgets, which range from approximately 15,000 to 13 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), are based on the amount of electricity that units have used in the past, adjusted for factors such as major renovations or program changes. Units that share buildings are allocated kWh (and corresponding funds) according to the square footage occupied by each.

The first six months of the program will be a kind of no-penalty, introductory period, Kulakowski said. If units use less than their allotted budget of electricity during that period, they get to keep the value of the remaining kWh, which will be determined by multiplying the remaining kWh by the electricity rate. If units use more electricity, the Budget Office will cover the shortfall with general funds. The Budget Office retains responsibility for covering costs associated with rate increases.

Beginning in September, units will receive a 12-month budget for electricity use. If at the end of the fiscal year, units have used fewer kWh than budgeted, they will get to keep the value of the excess. If they use more, they will have to pay the shortfall with local funds, she said. Units will receive monthly reports that show usage by building and how they are doing compared with their budgets, Kulakowski said.

Kulakowski estimates that the university could pare its electricity costs by about 5 percent (worth $750,000 at current rates) simply by undertaking voluntary, no-cost measures. That calculation is based on the 5 percent drop that occurred during the 2001 energy crisis, when employees changed their patterns of energy consumption. Those changes have gradually disappeared as the crisis has receded from people's minds, she said.

For the School of Earth Sciences, voluntary conservation measures and simple changes made in the last year have allowed the department to save $18,000 to $20,000, said Felicia Morales, assistant dean for facilities. (The only incentive was donuts on Fridays for a month for the building that saved the most energy during a contest period.)

Earth Sciences has already installed window film on the sunny side of buildings to reflect solar heat and ultraviolet rays, replaced overhead lights with more energy-efficient technology and upgraded heating and cooling systems. Currently, the school is installing motion sensors for lighting and a new chilled water line that will maximize savings during building shutdowns.

Morales holds quarterly contests and sends out e-mail reminders to students and staff to conserve energy. The project required a lot of teamwork, but the changes were barely noticeable to occupants, she said.

Kulakowski said she is available to conduct "walk-through" energy audits for units that are looking for specific suggestions for saving electricity. "Depending on the nature of different buildings, different things will be important," she said. And small changes made by individuals -- like turning off lights when they are not in use, minimizing the use of space heaters, shutting off computer monitors and turning off laser printers -- also are important, she said.

For more information, call Kulakowski at 723-4570 or e-mail susank@bonair.stanford.edu. Conservation tips are available at http://facilities.stanford.edu/conservation/.